Three Girls And A Wedding Read Online Free Page B

There was a slight change in his
inflection when he addressed the two of them—with Kiki he was charming,
almost flirtatious, but when he directed his attention to Eric, he immediately,
almost imperceptibly, transitioned into guy’s guy mode.   He certainly wasn’t messing around here.
    “Let me introduce you to Jen
Campbell,” he said warmly, gesturing toward me. “She’s going to be working with
us. You’ll love her, she’s absolutely wonderful.”
    I knew he was playing to the client
and ordered myself not to feel flattered. Instead, I plastered a huge smile on
my face and shook hands with the couple.
    “It’s so nice to meet you!” I
gushed.
    “Oh Jen,” Kiki breathed, squeezing
my hand and leaning close to me. “I’m so happy to have another girl on the
team. Oh, this is going to be so much fun! Just you wait, the two of us are
going to be the best of friends!”
    I managed to not roll my eyes at
this over the top ridiculousness. Instead I kept my smile plastered firmly on
and squeezed her hand right back.
    “Let’s sit,” Jason said, gesturing
for Kiki and Eric to take their seats. “We have so much to talk about!”
    “Mom and Daddy are going to be
joining us later for coffee,” Kiki said happily as Eric pushed her chair in for
her. “They had an early dinner to attend, but they’re so totally excited to
meet you guys.”
    I felt a flash of fear at the idea
of meeting David Barker so early in the process, but I pushed it down. This was
the world in which I worked, and I wasn’t about to let anyone see how much I
didn’t really belong.
    I took mental notes on the couple
before me as we made small talk and perused the menu. I knew from experience
that the definitive deciding factor in our success was getting a feel for the
bride and groom and forming a relationship with them. Eric   seemed amiable to me, but quiet. More
than likely he had accepted by now the inevitability that he would be completely
overshadowed by the hurricane force that was his fiancée.
    Kiki was the most energetic, happy,
excited human being I had ever come across. I had a feeling her sweetness was
genuine; despite her massive wealth I detected no note of snobbishness in her
demeanor. She talked a mile a minute, her voice just short of being annoyingly
high-pitched. She used her entire body: she threw her hands around with
abandon, leaning forward to make her point, turning her body in the direction
of the person she was addressing. After ten minutes, I was completely
exhausted.
    We drank white wine, ate
prosciutto, and discussed, in detail, Kiki’s vision for the wedding.
    She wanted a fairy theme. I kid you
not. Fairies. For a twenty-four-year-old.
    In Kiki’s mind, the fairy theme
encompassed a vast array of seemingly disparate ideas. She wanted crystals on
just about everything, and feathers on everything else. She thought a posh
night club area would be “so completely, totally, awesome” for the cocktail
hour. She wanted all the females in the wedding party to wear tiaras and
thought it would be “super great” if the guys wore top hats (Eric perked up a
little at this, shaking his head in what I could only assume was mute horror).
    By the time our plates had been
cleared and the coffee brought over, I felt a little dizzy. For the first time
in my life, I was actually grateful for Jason. He somehow managed to keep an
interested expression on his face, nodding and agreeing in all the right
places, even asking questions. This left me free to feverishly write down
everything Kiki was saying—a plus in my book because it prohibited me
from having to respond much.
    Kiki talked, without interruption,
until the waiter returned yet again with another couple. They were both tall,
very good-looking, and exuded an air of confidence and power you only found in
the very wealthy.
    “Mom! Daddy!” Kiki squealed,
standing up and running around the table to hug them. From the excitement she
was displaying at their